Lord Fifth
by Archangel507
Summary: [AU] Not much is known about the Dai-Tenshi clan's secrets. Even as cousins to the Uzumaki, their power was widely unknown. Yet, in spite of being wiped out alongside their cousins, a blue-haired teenager bearing their appearance and name is made the Fifth Hokage following the Kyubi's attack. The same question is asked by everyone in Konoha...Who is Avay Dai-Tenshi?


**Special Thanks to MindForgedManacle for proof-reading!  
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-15,062 Words-****  
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**A/N**

**Alright, my friends.  
****This will be a unique story, to say the least, definitely not for everyone.  
**  
**It's mostly for fun, but I want to write a decent story.  
****I am aware of some common fanon additions to fics and may or may not  
include them for comedic purposes, ****but I will not go overboard too much, I promise.  
****It will be _epic_!**  
**  
But, please, if I get something wrong, tell me and I will make haste to fix it!  
****Now, without further ado, let's begin!**

**Enjoy!**

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Normal Text

_Flashback/Thoughts/Reading_

**Jutsu**

_**Biju**_

* * *

Konoha had seen far better days. Billowing smoke and untamed fires raged for days, engulfing homes and livelihoods with searing contempt. That contempt, that anger could still be felt now. The malice of the Kyubi's attack had sown itself into the lives of citizens and shinobi alike, still felt days after the fact. The Fourth Hokage had died to save them, and all felt guilty about it. The loss of the beloved man and war hero affected everyone deeply and there were questions rising as to who would succeed him...Little did they know, that decision had been made. A decision that was unorthodox and unexpected.

Avay Dai-Tenshi had tutored under the Fourth once upon a time, if one could call being an assistant that. He had turned seventeen in the last month of September. He had fought in the Third Shinobi World War as a Genin and was field-promoted to Chūnin, then no less than a few days ago he fought brazenly against the Kyubi as it reduced vast portions of Konoha to rubble. Like his clan before him, he tried to use his bloodline to bring the beast down.

But, by himself, it wasn't nearly enough.

Now, he sat in the dark, sullen silence of the Hokage's office. It was noon and the sun peeked out through dark clouds that were slowly gathering in the distance. The light shone through the windows and off the boy's blue hair, the dark horns protruding from his forehead contrasting with his vibrant hair color, giving him the appearance of a humanoid demon. A sharp tattoo, a Dai-Tenshi _Iruzemi_, branched out onto his left cheek, trailing down his neck and collarbone underneath his black undershirt, reappearing on the back of his left hand and ending at the center of his palm. The dark marking he had since birth occasionally pulsing with light, glowing as his chakra flowed through it. He flexed his hand, which was covered with burns and wrapped in bandages, an unfortunate result of his assault on the Kyubi.

He was a fool.

The Chūnin flak-jacket he wore was unzipped and hung loosely off his shoulders as he stared at his lap, brown eyes misty and clouded with thought. The young man had done a lot of thinking lately and truly wondered how he got into this situation. He didn't feel prepared. What made him worthy? He had failed so many times, made so many mistakes, got so many killed because of his stupidity. Both faces he knew and those he did not. Named and nameless, at least in his eyes.

He didn't...He didn't know why _he_ was...

The door creaked open, his gaze rising to meet the young woman entering the room. His thoughts eased in her presence, meeting her mismatched-color eyes as he stood. She crossed the room in seconds and threw herself into his arms, wherein he held her close. She barely reached his height, but he didn't care as they slowly rocked on their feet. He unconsciously nuzzled his nose into her hair, eyes closed in a moment of peace. After a while, she eased away and looked up into his brown eyes, which opened slightly as their contact lessened.

"Avay...are we...going to be okay?" She asked, voice trembling. Her left eye was colored lavender and the other black, her mixed heritage on display much like his own.

"...I don't know." He didn't mean to sound blunt, but he honestly didn't. There was no training or preparation for a situation like this. It was pure chance...Or maybe fate was just playing with them, as it often did it seemed. "I think...with Lord Third's help, we can do something...make something of this..."

"Please, Avay..._please_..." She pleaded. "Rin's...she's in the hospital and...K-Kakashi won't leave his apartment and...and..."

"I know..." He whispered, holding her again. The blunette hated not knowing, so _so_ much. "...We can't change what's done-"

"-We can only move on..." She sniffled, her long, spiky black hair swaying as she buried her face into his chest again. They stood there for another moment, shielding one another from the depression onset by recent events. The war had left them shaken enough already. They had lost friends, family. But the Kyubi's rampage had come close to shattering them. So much death, a waste of human life that left them trembling. It reminded them of the war, of the crimson staining their hands and the screams of their enemies and allies. By their command and by their own actions.

Avay cursed himself for his weakness, his fear.

"I'll try my damnedest..." He swore to her and himself, hugging her tightly. "I promise you, Maiko Uchiha...I promise..."

* * *

**Prologue: Where It Began**

**-****6 Years Earlier****-**

Years ago, he lived on the streets. No family, no friends, living for himself. The other orphans called him a freak for his horns and iruzemi marking that evolved as the days passed. Whatever significance his defining features had, they were lost on him as the only items he had of his clan was a bag filled with books and scrolls, most of which were sealed with powerful seals. Those that were not sealed he couldn't make sense of anyway. He didn't know how to read.

But then, he met someone. Another orphan, or so he called himself, with bright pink hair and soft green eyes. His name was Māku, his brother by bond rather than blood. For a year, they lived together on the streets of Shubaku Town, a populated town known for his gambling and other vices in the Red Light. They made do with what they had, with Māku teaching Avay how to read until they were eventually forced to enter a newly opened orphanage.

There, they met Koi. A beautiful woman with red-white hair, who watched after and cared for them like they were her own.

For a while, it was like having a real family and Avay was happy.

Until he began to read the books and scrolls left to him. They were letters, notes, and other snippets of information on his lost clan. The Dai-Tenshi, cousins of the Uzumaki, sharing their increased chakra reserves and using them to great effect with odd and wonderful techniques. Techniques that Avay possessed within the scrolls, locked away with powerful Uzumaki seals. With both clans wiped from the face of the planet during the last war, that meant he had to open the scrolls himself.

He had to become a shinobi.

So he trained as best he could in his current situation. Māku seemed to share his dream and did his best to help him achieve his goal. But no matter how early they rose or how exhausted they became, it was never enough at the end of the day. That is, until a man entered the Orphanage one day. He was not looking to adopt, only to find Koi. His lost friend and, dare say, lost love.

But Gray was a shinobi, a powerful one at that. He wore a jounin's vest and a worn Hunter-Nin mask bearing both the Uzushiogakure and Konohagakure symbols, the symbol of the village the Uzumaki and Dai-Tenshi shared and it's closest ally. Whether he liked it or not, the man received two children begging for training. Later, as Avay learned more about him and really thought on it, he figured that might have been the best day of his father figure and sensei's life.

So, he and Māku were trained. Years passed, their beginning Academy years replaced by the guiding hand of their sensei. He taught them how to be shinobi, taught them of the world and how it works. Combat, History, Politics, and the like. But at the same time, he acted as their father. He spent time with them, taught them right from wrong. Took them fishing and hunting. While they were still in an orphanage, and Gray did tend to the other kids, their little family was separate and held a strong bond.

But as they approached the age of graduation, Gray suggested that they move to Konohagakure so that they could attend at least a few years of the Academy and properly graduate. They needed to know the village they were serving, after all. During the move, the boys had been restless thanks to their training being postponed until they had enrolled in the academy. Normally, you graduate at the age of twelve or thirteen, even younger depending on how skilled you are. So they had about three years to graduate, and they were gonna spend them well.

Avay, motivated by stories of his clan told by books and Gray himself, sought to figure out and learn fuinjutsu, sealing arts so he could unlock the technique scrolls left to him by his clan. But Māku knew little about fuinjutsu and just gave a encouraging smile whenever his brother seemed to falter in his studies. The pink-haired boy had been so intently focused on genjutsu and other studiesthat it was little wonder that he excelled in theory while Avay excelled in practical.

On the day they were set to leave, going by the market to get some supplies and groceries, the blunette browsed through the little section with a speculative look. He picked out a small red booklet, then a purple one, then a yellow one. He went through several of them, setting them all back haphazardly and out of order as he grew frustrated by his indecision.

Māku was nearby, running a basket of food and necessities through the checkout counter. He coughed a bit as he watched the cashier ring up the total, fishing into his pocket for the coin-purse Koi had given them. It was noticeably lighter, given how much the two of them, plus Gray, ate as shinobi. The pink-haired boy looked over to his friend browsing through blank journals, a small smile appearing on his face. Avay's iruzemi-mark glowed furiously as he sulked away in frustration, unable to make a decision. The pinkette gave a smile to the cashier before walking over and sorting the books back into their original order. He took a moment afterwards to look through the selection, instantly spotting a small light-blue book with a metal latch on the front. Picking it up and looking it over, he smiled a bit. It was almost the shade of Avay's hair, he would like it.

When he taught him to read, Avay took to it instantly, developing a deep love of reading and writing; He had been looking for something to use a journal for a long time, inspired by the books left to him. Though, he was unable to find any quality, and most importantly _completely_ blank books in most shops. Māku wasn't really a fan of reading to be honest, but with an nod, he handed the journal to the cashier to be added to the transaction.

Anything for his brother.

* * *

Gray led his family to Konoha, keeping on guard the entire time. If anything were to befall them, he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

As much as his pride hated to admit it, he had grown attached to the little demons Koi had raised in his absence, even if they weren't of either their blood. Both of them, though Avay especially, thirsted for knowledge and training to become great shinobi. It reminded him of young Uzu-nin he had helped train once upon a time, when Uzushiogakure still stood. A small sea of red hair, with a smattering of blue and purple. It was his home once, but no longer.

This was his, no, his _family's_ home now.

He wandered through the village at a leisurely pace, heading towards the Hokage's tower. He had dug up his old Jōnin flak vest he had put away years ago just for the move. It was a bit sudden, but a long time coming. Avay and Māku needed to have some academy experience before becoming Genin, plus Koi had wanted to "retire" for a good amount of time now, even if Gray felt like he had another decade in him. But he would never let his precious friend, his love down, especially since they both were in their mid-forties. That was old, especially for a shinobi. Gray helped with the great deal of finance and paperwork to allow them to move into the village itself and establish themselves.

Konoha had changed so much throughout the years, especially considering his lifetime. He and Koi were born a year before Konoha's creation, a joint effort by the Senju and Uchiha almost half a century ago. As a matter of fact, the Hokage wasn't much older than they were. Though they looked quite youthful for their age in comparison to the elder Sarutobi.

In fact, they had both entered the Shinobi Training Institution, now called the Ninja Academy, and would have been in the second class to ever graduate, just behind the Hokage's own class. But when Koi had deigned to leave and explore the world, Gray decided to follow her. They were just kids, but had pulled through and survived what the world had become after the Warring-States period. It certainly wasn't as rough as it was before, but still difficult to make any headway in.

Eventually, however, they had gone their separate ways.

Gray lived an unorthodox life. He had gone to Iwagakure and studied their training regime and shinobi forces. He joined them as a freelance mercenary, a ronin-shinobi, something not quite unheard of in the aftermath of the Warring States. Of course, true Ronin did exist as wandering Samurai, Gray even had the opportunity to work with a few. There was no more dangerous group of travelers than a few leaderless Shinobi and Samurai with no motivation other than money.

While he stayed in Iwagakure for a year or so, he found their methods of training too harsh yet unfruitful. He left that land behind and went on to study and occasionally join the forces and ranks of other Hidden Villages. He'd been to Sunagakure, Kirigakure, Amegakure, before finally settling and permanently joining Uzushiogakure's shinobi corps some years before they were wiped out. He rose to Chūnin and Jōnin ranks through the years, and even did a tenure with Kiri's hunter-nin division, which is where he acquired their iconic mask that he kept and made his own. They were those who called him disloyal and traitorous, but Gray had made sure to never swear an oath of loyalty and always made his contracts fool-proof in their leniency. As far as the villages were concerned, the mysterious yet promising Ronin who joined their ranks had vanished.

He had participated in the First Shinobi World War at the age of seventeen while in Suna's service, fighting many a foe and a number of old friends and allies. Few recognized him, those that did typically died at his hand before they could report his new allegiance to their superiors. With potential blackmail and being given missing-nin status across the Elemental Nations, he couldn't allow that, even if he could prove he never swore loyalty in the first place. For this very reason, his current allies overheard these encounters and recognized his apparent lack of loyalty; Unaligned shinobi were not looked upon kindly these days. Despite his protests, this earned him the moniker and alias; Ronin.

Once the war concluded, he continued to roam about, studying many Hidden Villages' shinobi and their techniques. Though he was no Uchiha and he had no sharingan, so his knowledge was as good as his memory. His experience in his travels proved useful during his service under Uzushiogakure's banner, the first village he had actually sworn loyalty towards. After it's destruction, his allegiance automatically went to Konohagakure, the Senju clan's bond with the Uzumaki allowing wandering Uzushio shinobi a new home in the aftermath. Gray had been at the center of it, on the eve of the Second Shinobi World War, and was lucky to have survived. Though he saved as many civilians and comrades as he could, he had a feeling most still did not make it.

For a long time, he lost his will to be a shinobi. He missed how simple things were before he wandered, he missed Koi. But as fate would have it, they had met back up not even a few decades ago. Koi had become a caretaker at an orphanage in the town of Shubaku in the Land of Fire. Gray, either out of duty, friendship, or maybe even love had begun helping her out. He met Avay and Māku.

And the rest is history.

He was motivated, returning to active duty once more. But this time, Gray had his sights on a venerable position within Konoha's ranks.

He was in the running for Jōnin Commander, the representative of the regular shinobi forces and key-strategist to the Hokage. Though he wished to have acquired wisdom at less a price, Gray hoped to use his knowledge to aid the village in his twilight years. Though the idea of being Hokage had crossed his mind once or twice, for example, but he ultimately settled for the step below that.

The middle-aged man looked at the two scrolls in hand, standing in front of the Academy and the connected Hokage Tower with bated breath. He gave a light scoff at his hesitation. He was infamous for his many backgrounds and battle-record in the past and across both Shinobi World Wars. His title of Ronin was well deserved. Yet, here he was, nervous at facing a Kage, something he had indirectly done on many, _many_ occasions.

Adjusting his hunter-nin mask, the Konoha symbol emblazoned on the temple in place of a Hitai-ate, he pushed away his hesitation and entered the building with a calm, yet determined stride. Many a Jōnin and Chūnin spared a glance in his direction, intrigued by the sudden appearance a masked shinobi who was obviously _not_ ANBU, especially one moving through the building with such purpose. They soon recognized the symbol on the forehead of his mask, leading them to resume whatever business they had. Gray headed on up, his destination at the very top floor. He was stopped just outside the door to the Hokage's office by a black-haired Chūnin jotting something down on a scroll.

"Name?" He asked, sounding bored.

"Hashirama Senju."

"Okay, Senju-san. What is...your..." He snapped his head up in confusion. "Wait, wha-?"

"Ah, Mika. I was wondering if that was you."

The blue-eyed man Gray had met during the Second War frowned, staring at him with narrowed eyes, which suddenly widened.

"Ronin-san...?!" His voice was hushed.

"It's Gray..." A small frown appeared behind his mask.

"We...all thought you died in the war...!" He rose up and held out his hand, which Gray made a point not to shake. Mika sheepishly let his hand fall. "Forgive me. When I heard someone running for Commander with your name...I didn't think...Where have you been, if you don't mind me asking?"

"All over. I was on leave, I guess, still am actually. Koi and I just moved back, got a nice little house in the west district. Got two kids wanting to become Shinobi tagging along too."

"Wait, _you_? With _kids_?" Mika laughed a bit. "That's something I got to see."

"What do you mean by that?" He inquired with a razor-sharp tone.

"Nothing, Ronin...I mean, Gray-san." Mika shrunk back. "Uh...Do you need to see Hokage-sama?"

Gray nodded, holding up the two scrolls. "If you please."

His dark-haired acquaintance nodded quickly, grabbing a form and quickly scribbling down information required for the visit, occasionally glancing up to ask him questions. After putting a quick stamp on the corner, he set the paper off to the side and beckoned him to the door behind him. Gray entered the office, immediately being stared down by the two people inside. A blonde-haired man with blue-eyes glanced at him, though Gray didn't exactly recognize him, he had heard of an exceptionally-skilled Shinobi who matched his description. He forgot the name, however.

And then...

"Lord Third." Gray bowed briefly, keeping his tone light and familiar. "Hope I am not interrupting anything."

"Ah. I was wondering when you would turn up." Hiruzen Sarutobi motioned for him to come forward. "This is nothing but a simple meeting, you've not intruded."

Gray stepped forward, having a distinct feeling that was a lie. The Hokage waved a hand, various intricate seals along the walls activating at his gesture. Privacy Seals, even he knew that. Nodding his head to the other man in the room, Gray greeted him, "I've not made your acquaintance, I believe."

"Minato Namikaze." The blonde returned the greeting in a friendly, yet formal way. He held out his hand to shake, Gray did so. "I've heard a little about you, Gray-sama. You are running for the title of Jōnin Commander?"

"I am, with little competition it seems. I was hoping Shikaku Nara would join in, but I suppose not." He shrugged. "And the the feeling is mutual, Namikaze-san." He nodded once more, recognizing the name. "You've an affinity for Fuinjutsu and the Flying Rajin Jikūkan Ninjutsu that the Nidaime was known for, both with exceptional skill. You could prove a difficult opponent for any shinobi."

"That's high praise, thank you."

"Humble too? That is rare in our line of work."

"Hmm...This gives me an idea regarding your concerns, Minato. You see, Gray has been traveled the world and knows the other Hidden Villages so extensively that he may be able to provide some insight." The Third Hokage said suddenly. Gray arched an eyebrow, both confused as to his suggestion of himself and interested in what could require his advice. It was no secret that he knew how other Hidden Villages function far better than most thanks to his experience studying and being part of their ranks. "You can consider this practice for if you become Commander."

Gray was about to reply on his own, when Minato turned to him. "It would be of immense help"

"You've my interest, but it's probably best if I get my own affairs in order before proceeding to other problems, if you'll forgive me." Gray suggested, holding up two scrolls. "I've already got our housing permit pushed through and ready...but I wanted you to take a look at these personally."

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow, taking the scrolls and looking them over. "Hmm...Apprentices?"

"I met them years ago in Shubaku Town." He nodded. "They wished to become Shinobi, begged me to train them. I've done my best and I believe they are quite talented for their age, not prodigal, mind you, but talented nonetheless. Though I believe they should attend the Academy for the next three years so they may graduate properly and gain some knowledge of the village, Avay especially."

"Avay? That's an odd name..."

"Hai, it is. He was an Orphan and didn't have a name, not a proper one, so he thought of it on the spot when Koi took him in." Gray recalled the story, though was still somewhat disappointed in his adopted son's lack of imagination. "It stuck, so we never bothered choosing another."

"Hmm...they are both still of age for the academy, both are willing and interested, as you've said." The Third looked up, eyes narrowed. "But what makes you have such faith in them, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Well, Māku excels in theory. Prefers genjutsu even though his taijutsu is more refined than most. He could be an excellent strategist and soldier, whatever is required of him."

"I see, and the other?"

"Well, he's a special case. If you couldn't tell, he's a Dai-Tenshi."

Hiruzen stared at the file for a second before setting it away, fingers folded together as his steady eyes moved back up. "I see, that is quite rare. The Dai-Tenshi were wiped out along with Uzushiogakure, their already waning number not surviving that ordeal nor the aftermath."

"I'm aware." Gray folded his arms, finger to his mask's chin. "I rescued a few when the village was attacked, though far less than the Uzumaki. From what I've seen, he has the look for it. Blue hair and an _Iruzemi_, a chakra-tattoo unique to the clan he says he's had since birth. His horns are interesting, since I can only recall a select few Dai-Tenshi who had similar features, though never specifically horns."

"Indeed, it is a curious feature."

"But, in spite of that, He's not properly trained in his clan's chakra manipulation abilities nor has he unlocked their dojutsu. He does have a few scrolls containing those techniques, but they're sealed tight by some complex fuinjutsu. I think Uzumaki seals but, as ironic as it is, seals are not my forte."

"Minato could have a look." The Third suggested.

"If it's no trouble."

"I wouldn't mind." Minato shrugged. "Y'know, my fiancé is an Uzumaki. She could help far more than I could."

"Really? Huh...Congratulations, I guess that has it's perks." Gray closed his eyes, thinking. He turned back to the Third. "Anyway, Avay is a bit brash, but he's determined to become strong like his clan were once. His chakra control is excellent and he has deep reserves, probably only half what the Uzumaki have though. Taijutsu is on point, but he prefers speed to power." He looked to Minato, "He could probably take a page from your book."

"I wouldn't take it _that_ far."

"Oh, don't be so modest, it's unbecoming." Gray laughed, before turning back to finish his report. "Anyway, I doubt Avay'll be able to hunt a Biju anytime soon. Then again, he'd probably try it anyway even though you'd need a platoon of Dai-Tenshi Jōnin to do that."

"Hmm..." The elder Kage nodded, seeming to think it over for a few moments. Finally, he nodded. "Very well, I'll put these through the proper channels and have them enrolled in...oh...two days time?"

"Excellent, thank you." Gray bowed. "Also...If it's no mind...I would also like to become their sensei when they graduate."

"Really?" Hiruzen cocked an eyebrow at that, taking a moment to huff on his pipe. "You do realize you would have to juggle your duties as Jōnin Commander with those of a team sensei, correct? Training, Missions, and the like. That could prove to be quite challenging just by yourself. The only way I could grant you that request is if you found a substitute sensei."

"I see...hmm..." Gray hummed for a second, then _slooowly_ glanced at Minato. "_Say_...how good are you at tutoring?"

Minato felt himself sweat for some reason.

* * *

"Tomato Juice is different than tomatoes!"

"No it isn't! It's made from tomatoes!"

"That doesn't matter! The taste is different!"

"But it's the same! How do you love tomato juice but hate tomatoes-"

"TOMATOES ARE _DISGUSTING_! LONG LIVE TOMATO JUICE!"

Needless to say, a household including of two ten-year olds with a brotherly-relationship is permeated by screaming matches well into the waning hours of the day. The only reason the neighbors refrained from making a complaint was because the two were oddly endearing in their squabbles.

"We should get take-out for dinner!" Avay nursed a big cup of tomato juice, iruzemi glowing brightly. He loved that stuff with fervor, downing the whole thing in a few quick gulps that left a line of red on his upper lip, which he nonchalantly wiped away with his arm. Māku shook his head in disgust. "We're going to the Academy tomorrow and we'll need to be ready!"

"Hell no! We've already lost half the money Gray-sensei gave us-_gah_!" Māku began coughing furiously, quickly propping himself on the table so as to not fall over.

"Māku! Make sure you take some medicine before you go to bed!" Koi's voice rang from the garden.

"Okay-!" He coughed a few more times, clearing his throat before he turned back on Avay. "_Ah_...We've got groceries anyway!"

"You don't know how to cook." Avay said flatly.

"Do too!"

"Garbage maybe!"

"Then let Koi-sama cook!"

"No! My mind is set!" Avay pointed into the air dramatically. "I have a craving for _fast food_!"

"...Y'know we'll have to cut back on that for the academy, right?" Māku deadpanned.

"Then we must eat while we can!" The horned-youth declared.

Māku _really_ wanted to keep arguing, but Avay had already jumped to his feet and rushed off to grab his winter coat. The pink-haired boy sighed, going to grab his own before the bluenette left him in the dust. He took some medicine just before heading out the door, "Koi-sama! We're going out!"

"Alright! Be back before sundown!" Their mother-figure called from the garden, where she was undoubtedly cultivating her hobby. She liked planting herbs and other interesting plants, often medicines and poisons for Gray. She took the time to show them how to identify a plant when they were younger, so while they didn't share in their hobby, something useful did come from it.

After they left, Māku mostly gazed about as they wandered through the crowded streets. Avay had thrown on a hood that was attachable to his blue coat, using it to hide his horns and blue hair. People often made fun of him for both, or just stared at him weird, the latter of which he hated even more than the former. Māku, however, was free to strut about, pink hair and all. Konoha was, as always, busy and bustling. It was almost seven in the evening, and the dinner-rush for civilians and shinobi alike had begun moments ago. Delicious scents wafted through the air, teasing many a hungry man or woman. This included the blood brothers as they strolled right through the heart of Konoha, on the lookout for a nice meal.

They ended up settling for Ramen at a little stand called "Ichiraku" or something. Neither having heard of it, they just ate in silence. The chef seemed nice enough. Avay finished before Māku did, spending the time observing his surroundings. Gray had told them that, if they were to join the Shinobi ranks, they would have to go through the academy like everyone else. As they were older than when normal students begin, the normal age being five and both of them being ten, it would be better if they learned all the practical skills needed to be able to graduate as normal. Before coming to Konoha, Gray made sure they trained as hard as possible, so they could be able to join the Academy within the week of arriving. Avay did not enjoy that whatsoever, Māku didn't really mind. At least, he was already progressing on chakra control and genjutsu, and Avay was intrigued by his clan's scrolls...

"Here." Māku said suddenly interrupting his thoughts, holding out the blue journal he had purchased earlier.

Avay stared at it, surprised. "What's this?"

"A journal. I noticed you were eyeing some at the store back in Shubaku but couldn't make up your mind." Māku shrugged. "So I got you this one, it's your favorite shade of blue too."

Avay continued to stare in surprise, slowly taking it in hand and turning it over. Then, he smiled brightly. "Wow! Thanks, Māku-kun!"

The pinkette strained a smile. "_Don't_ call me that...but...You're welcome."

"Yeah. You're not one to be that into reading, y'know."

"Shut up." Māku grinned truly.

A cry interrupted the moment, both boy's heads craning to look back into the small alley behind the Ramen stand. Another boy was standing over a young girl about their age. He had shoved her to the ground and now stood over her. "Get up, you weakling!" He hissed, grabbing her roughly by the arm and yanking her to her feet.

"Avay..." Māku murmured tersely.

The horned-youth watched the scene for less than a second or two, before standing up abruptly. "_Hell no_...Hey! Pick on someone your own size."

The other boy turned to look at him, having dropped the girl to the ground. Avay and Māku both got a better look at him, namely a better look at his eyes, which were pupiless and held a lavender tone.

"_Damn it!_" Māku swore and stood up; He knew a Hyuga when he saw one. Avay did too.

"Go away. This is clan business."

"And that calls for hitting a girl? What the hell does that have to do with it?" Avay snapped, posture guarded.

"_Pfft_, you wouldn't understand." He scoffed. "She is a...ugh...a member of my clan, my-"

"And _that_ gives reason to hit her? You're sick in the head, blank-eyes." Avay jabbed a thumb back. "How about _you_ get the hell outta here!"

The hyuga boy stepped forward. "And why should I?"

"Cause you're sick. in. the. head." Avay repeated, eyes narrowed intently. He stepped forward too, but the difference in height did not make it as impressive as he thought it would. But he persevered. "Now get out of here. You don't hurt those who can't defend themselves."

He took one step forward, now face-to-face with Avay. There was nothing but bated breath at this point, as brown eyes met lavender ones. The tension could be cut with a knife. Avay hated it, hated that small moment of tension that always preceded a fight. He'd been in scrapes before, especially with other kids. But this kid was a Hyuga, probably trained by his clan. Meanwhile, Avay could fight and was tough in his own right...but he had his doubts that he could stand up to a Hyuga.

"_Hmph_." The hyuga grunted, eyeing Avay. "You don't look like much."

"That's because he isn't much..." Māku stepped between them, actually matching the Hyuga's boy height and equaling his glare. "You're right, it's no business of ours, but you attacking those of your blood is inexcusable. Lest I see to your clan's side of things and their opinion of you attacking your blood, you may want to leave as my friend suggested."

The Hyuga stared for a long time at the pink-haired boy, then snorted and glared at Avay. "_You_...you watch yourself."

"I'm terrified." Avay snarked, waving his hands and rolling his eyes at that statement. They watched as the boy march off in a huff. "Y'know, didn't Gray-sensei say that you really shouldn't be that arrogant and that it could get yourself killed or something?"

"Yeah...One of his lessons on 'common sense', I think." Māku muttered as he eased, shoulders visibly slumping. He coughed a few times. "_Ah_...I'm surprised he backed off. He would've folded us like lawn-chairs if he used any jutsu or that fighting style of theirs." He gave an admonishing look. "Leave it to you to start a fight on our _second_ day here."

"I_ was_ gonna spit in his eye and tackle him so he couldn't do anything."

"You were gonna spit in the eye of a Hyuga. A _Hyuga_. That's a _terrible_ idea." Māku laughed uproariously. "You'll need to learn some more jutsu and techniques yourself before showing your face around that guy again, lest you get your stupid ass kicked when he inevitably tries to ambush you."

"Thanks for having my back, niisan." Avay deadpanned.

"Can't change what's done, we can only move on." He reminded.

"Don't start-!"

"Um..." They both turned to the meek voice, having forgotten that the girl they were helping was still there on the ground.

"Ah hell, here, let me help you up." Avay offered a hand. Her reply was to frown and push away his arm so she could stand up on her own. "Uh alright...You okay?"

"I'm fine..." She said in a biting tone. "You didn't need to do that."

"It's no trouble...My name's Avay! That's A-V-A-I, but with a Y." He introduced himself, paused, then waved a hand to Māku. "Oh. And this is Sakura."

"Māku, you dick." The pinkette insisted, punching him in the shoulder. "Sakura's a girl name."

The girl's expression didn't change, she only bowed her head and rushed off.

Avay blinked as he watched her go, then turned to Māku. "Was it something I said? Well...okay, I did kinda tell her cousin or whatever to F.O."

"_I_ told him to F.O." Māku reminded. "You almost got your ass beat is what happened. Besides, I don't think that's even it. You see that look in her eye? I've seen Koi-sama with that look when guys other than Gray-sensei hit on her. I don't think she likes men."

"...Like men? Or...Boys? Or..."

"Men in general."

Avay grumbled something that sounded like, "If I was her, I wouldn't like men either."

Māku laughed.

* * *

Their first days of the Academy were both interesting and _boring as hell_.

Avay and Māku both entered the classroom early in the morning each day, long before anyone had come in. So they often had a moment to themselves before class. Avay popped open his brand-new journal and began scribbling and writing, Māku watched him for a second, until he eventually resorted to organizing his things in boredom. Eventually, other kids would begin filing in, giving them both very odd looks. Thankfully, Avay was too engrossed in his writing that he didn't notice. Māku didn't care for the looks and just glared back if they looked too judgmental. Their teacher was a man named was Todoroki, though they addressed him as sensei.

Throughout the weeks and months, many other kids would murmur and whisper about them, mostly pertaining to Avay's appearance. The blunette kept giving Māku a pleading look, wanting nothing more than to pummel the naysayers, but the pinkette continued to deny him with a shake his head. The lectures were boring, both of them faced with the harsh, horrifying realities of school on a daily basis.

But they suffered it and listened intently. After morning class, they would go outside for taijutsu and chakra exercises. Both boys would instantly go at it, their fight looking very little like a spar and more like an all-out brawl. After all, they were sparring partners for years under Gray's tutelage, the academy style didn't really sit well with them. Eventually, Todoroki-sensei stopped them and explained that they should be practicing just the academy style for now or clan styles if they had them, not whatever brawling style they were utilizing. Despite their reluctance, they fell into step and began practicing. Similar to the lecture, they didn't mind it too much and fell into the routine of it.

"Is that kid giving me a look?" Avay asked as he caught his brother's fist, wincing at the impact. Māku looked to where he was motioning, noticing the dark-haired, blank-eyed boy glaring at the two of them, though mainly at his blue-haired companion.

"Isn't that the Hyuga you stopped from bullying that girl the other day?" Māku kicked at his shin.

"Yeah..." Avay stepped back, swinging his fist towards the Pinkette's face as he did so. After a few more narrow misses and deft impacts, he started to stare off to the side. "Speaking of which..."

Māku turned, almost face-faulting when he noticed said girl on the other side of the field, practicing by herself.

"She's here too?"

"Wow! What are the odds?" Avay laughed, bringing his knee up to block another kick. "Should we go say hi?"

"To who exactly?"

"The girl, duh..._wah!_" Avay yelped as Māku sweeped his legs and pinned him, hand pressing his face into the dirt. "_Grh_...Can't..._urgh_...hurt to be...friendly..!"

"I don't know..." Māku didn't seem all that bothered by Avay's attempts to wiggle free, casually looking back to the topic of their conversation. "If she's all misandristic like I guessed, that may be a tad bit difficult."

"_Hrm_...Maybe you're right..."

Māku soon released his brother, just in time for the bell to ring for lunch. As fate would have it, they were sitting together and discussing their spar when the girl in question came up to them. Though she stayed at a distance, unnoticed, and seeming conflicted. When Avay left for the restroom at some point, she moved closer and cleared her throat to gain Māku's attention.

"Oh hey." He greeted, surprised. "It's nice to see you again. How are you?"

"I'm...fine." She said carefully, fidgeting slightly. "I just wanted to say...thank you, for before. I was rude and didn't thank you properly...so...yeah..."

"It's no trouble." The pinkette waved his hand. "Though you should have thanked Avay, he's the one who helped you first."

"I was going to...but...You're more approachable, is all."

"Ha! Understandable, he takes some getting used too." Māku laughed, before his eyes narrowed dangerously. "Your cousin isn't hurting you again, is he?"

"N-No." She shook her head quickly. "He's...not said a thing ever since you two stepped in."

"Good." His features softened. "He was a real scumbag...No offense."

"None taken. He's not my cousin, by the way. More like a step-brother."

"That...doesn't make it _any_ better."

"Yeah..."

"...Is he why you don't like men?"

Alarm flashed in her eyes. "Don't like men? What do you-"

"Well, maybe not liking them is an overstretch...But you just seem, I don't know, distrustful whenever you're around guys." Māku shrugged. "I've been noticing it quite often from you. But like I said, maybe I'm just assuming too much, but-"

"N-no...no...You're...right, I think." She shrugged slightly. "Though I do love Strum, he's family, he always mad at me and makes sure the boys of his clan go out of their way to pick on me. I never knew why but...I do get jumpy around boys, I suppose." She perked up. "Not that there's anything wrong with boys! I...wait...no! That's not what I meant, they're...uh-"

"Okay, okay..." Māku had to bite back a chuckle, hand held up to quiet her. "How about we simplify to 'I'm not comfortable around boys, but I don't hate them' and leave it at that, hm?"

Maiko nodded gratefully. "Yeah, yeah! _That_..!"

With that settled, Māku took a moment to look her over, though he did not notice anything that out of the ordinary, barring a single detail. She wore a beige long-sleeve shirt and pants, no skirt like he expected, though that was only because a skirt was "girly" in his mind and this one did not seem to fit into that category. Her hair was long, to her shoulder blades, but spiky as well. She had an odd green marking on her forehead, but he didn't say anything about that, probably was a sensitive topic he'd prefer not to breach upon. Her eyes, the detail he noticed initially but saved for further examination, were an odd bag. One black and the other lavender. That was _interesting_.

"You can sit, if you want. Avay'll be back in a second."

"Oh, thank you." She sat down at the table, a small smile appearing on her face. "My name's Maiko. Maiko Uchiha. You're Māku, right?"

"Yeah, I-" Māku paused, blinking as his mind registered the information. "Wait, _Uchiha_? You mean Hyuga, right?"

"Eh..." She shrunk back. "Well...I...we...It's a long story."

"We got time, shoot." Māku leaned forward on his arms, interested.

"Uh...Well...I actually don't know most of it myself." Maiko admitted, scratching her cheek. "All I really know is...my mom's an Uchiha and my dad was a Hyuga."

He slightly winced when he noticed her refer to her dad in the past tense. He knew how that felt enough to not ignore the glaring fact being handed to him. "Oh...I'm sorry. Do both clans...treat you okay?"

"My mom's clan are nice enough to me...She works in the Leaf Military Police. The Hyuga don't really like me...but they aren't open about it, I guess. My step-brother, Shun, was my father's son he had with his first wife before she died. Then he met my mom and had me...and then...yeah."

"_Well...It's better than nothing._" The pinkette shook his head slightly. "Once more, I'm sorry. It's like I always say, we can't change what's done, we can only move on."

"Thank you. What clan do you come from?" Maiko asked.

"None of 'em." He shook his head. "But Avay's apparently from this big, ancient clan that fought alongside the Uzumaki and Senju back in the day."

"That must be something to boast about."

"Not really. Avay never really takes stock in heritage-"

"WHAT THE _FUCK_ DID YOU JUST CALL ME!?"

Everyone in the lunch room craned their necks to look across the room to where the bathrooms were located, where a few boys had decided to pick on the bluenette in question. The leader, either foolish, brave, or foolishly brave sneered as Avay glared angrily at him. "You heard us, _horns-_!".

Needless to say, nobody was surprised when Avay flying-tackled and began to beat the snot out of that kid, with his buddies trying to pull the pissed Bluenette away before he could kill him. Maiko stared for several seconds, blinking owlishly, while Māku chortled quietly.

"-Yet, he still fights with the full strength of his ancestors."

Avay, unsurprisingly, got in trouble and found himself in detention once a teacher got involved and pulled him away. Despite his efforts in proving that, yes, the boy deserved it, it still didn't make beating the crap out of him any less against the rules. He got back to class just before the day got out, sulking like a scolded child, this being the literal case.

"Oh boy, look who escaped from detention." Māku teased from the back of the room, clapping sarcastically. "Like a true ninja."

"Burn in hell." Avay took notice to Maiko, sitting at their desk like it was the most normal thing in the world. The mood seemed to instantly lighten as he beamed, iruzemi glowing brightly. "Oh hey! It's good to see you again! Sorry about the whole thing with your cousin."

"He's my step-brother actually. But it's no problem, thank you." Maiko smiled. Like her and Māku, they introduced themselves and talked for a bit, mainly discussing what she'd already talked with Māku about earlier that day. Unlike most Uchiha the boys had already met, Maiko seemed to be far more mellow than her average clan mate. She probably got it from her mother, as judging from her description of her, she was the Uchiha policewoman who confirmed them as they moved into Konoha the other day. "By the way, I've never met a kid with a tattoo like that. Is it your chakra that makes it glow?"

"Oh yeah!" Avay nodded vigorously, pulling up his sleeve to show the rest of the marking. "It's called an Iruzemi! I think it's a bloodline to my clan, but I've never met another Dai-Tenshi to confirm whether that's true or not. I think it has something to do with my horns, though!"

Maiko listened intently as Avay went on a tangent about how he didn't know why his Iruzemi glowed, or why he had horns, or blue hair, among other things. But the chakra thing was a good theory; He'd have to tell Gray at some point. Māku just sat back and watched their conversation, smiling a bit at his brother's happiness in a potential new friend. Maiko didn't have many friends so, despite her reservations and concerns, she was welcomed into their group with no trouble.

That day was a good one.

* * *

"Koi-kaa-san!" Avay ran and hugged the red-white haired woman tightly. Koi laughed as she hugged him back. Off to the side, Gray chuckled and shook his head. He looked at Māku, who was still talking to Maiko, before saying goodbye and walking up to them, seeming surprised. "Good first day?"

"Yeah, nothing too hard, nothing too easy either. A little surprised to see you two here, actually." The pinkette smirked slightly. "Avay got into a fight at lunch, but to be fair, they kinda deserved it."

"Yeah, what he said!"

"Really?" Koi frowned down at him, then she sighed. "Be that as it may, no fighting outside spars, understood?"

Avay pouted. "Hai, kaa-san."

"We can't change what's done, we can only move on."

"Don't throw that saying back at me, Māku." Gray warned.

"Sure." Māku chuckled. "We did make a new friend, though."

"Oh? Name?"

"Maiko Uchiha." Māku held up a finger. "_But_, she says her father was a Hyuga."

"Yeah!" Avay confirmed. "Even her eyes are different, black and purplish."

"_Lavender_, Avay."

Koi and Gray looked at each other, surprised. "Wow, that's not something you hear everyday."

"Why's that?"

"Well..." Koi set Avay down, seeming to think. She held up a finger. "Well, the Uchiha and Hyuga don't really..._like_ each other all that well. It's not full-blown rivalry, but a union of two of them is as unlikely as a shinobi on the moon."

"Yeah, I've fought with and know a lot of both clans...That's very, very unorthodox for any member of either of 'em." Gray confirmed.

"Well, she seems nice enough."

"Though...she's awfully uncomfortable around other boys though." Avay mused, scratching his chin. "She kept giving glares to other boys who talked to us, never girls though."

"She doesn't hate boys though, just dislikes their company I think." Māku shrugged. "She tolerates us enough, but we only met her yesterday and all she did was give us the stink eye after we made her step-brother run off."

"You did _what_?"

"Oops, jury's out."

"Smooth." Avay snarked. "In our defense, he was messing with her, throwing her to the ground and stuff, we couldn't let him just do that."

"Shinobi don't play hero, Avay; It's too costly-" Gray paused when Koi glared at him. He sighed. "_But_...you did the right thing, just don't pick fights with the Hyuga. Their gentle-fist style will bring you down quick and you'll have to be in the hospital for the damage to heal." He frowned behind his mask. "What was her step-brother's name anyway?"

Avay and Māku exchanged looks.

"Shiki, was it?"

"Nah, Maiko-chan said it was Shun."

"Yeah, that's it."

Gray nodded, looking off to the side, watching some of the other children meet their parents. His expression was unreadable, despite his mask. Koi simply clapped her hands together. "Well, I'm glad you two had a good first day! Let's all treat ourselves tonight. I made barbecue!"

The pinkette of the group cast a quick glance to his brother, noticing the great joy on his face suddenly evaporate and replaced with horror and disgust. The last time they had barbecue, Koi had to force-feed Avay. He hated that stuff with a passion not unlike the Will of Fire their sensei had tried to drill into their heads. Seeing his expression change so suddenly, Māku kinda pitied him.

...Just a little bit.

* * *

Days turned to weeks, weeks to months. Māku's birthday came on the 27th of March, Avay's came on the 11th of September, and Maiko's was on October the 2nd. Now eleven years of age each, it was the end of the school year and Gray's afternoon training became harder and tougher than ever. Once they finally settled into the routine, Gray promptly flipped it around and began to have them practice jutsu and other techniques; Several basic elemental jutsu and the three basic academy techniques included.

They could use Kunai offensively and had decent aim with shuriken, though Avay had superior aim to Māku, while Maiko bested them both. She could hit a bullseye eight times out of ten whenever she joined them for training. Being Uchiha-raised had it's perks.

In regards to taijutsu, Māku easily outpaced both of them. He was a natural fighter it seemed, with Maiko coming in close second in terms of raw hitting power, though Avay's innate speed and stamina trounced them both and often allowed him to outlast them during spars.

The next academy year, starting in January, they mostly practiced **Henge**, which allowed you to transform into various object, people, and such. It was a bit harder than the **Kawarimi**, so they pushed themselves to get it just right. They wanted to be able to perform all techniques flawlessly. They weren't top of the class, not at all, that honor went to Maiko's "scumbag of half-brother", as Avay would say. Something must have happened to him, because he hadn't even talked to the girl after school or anything, nor did he, or any other Hyuga for that matter, threaten or bully her anymore. He still was an ass to Avay and Māku, but that was expected. All three weren't entirely sure of the reason...but Māku had a sneaking suspicion that Gray was behind it.

Speaking of their sensei, his time he could spend training them grew progressively shorter and shorter. Once he became the Jōnin Commander, he struggled to balance his new duties as advisor, councilor, and representative with that of a sensei. As such, a solution was needed.

"Alright, you two...three." Gray entered the clearing, catching sight of Maiko. "Oh, hello Maiko-san. Are you joining us today?"

"Hai, Gray-sensei." The girl bowed. "My mother said it was fine. The regular instructor is sick today, anyway."

"Wiiiimp-_Ow_!" Avay cried as Māku punched his arm. "That hurt, niisan!"

"Then stop saying stupid things."

"Hmm...Alright, this may be a bit unorthodox then." The grey-haired hunter-nin scratched his chin under his mask. "Y'see, I've been summoned by the Hokage for an important task and can't give you all training, probably for a while..."

"Is it something to with the ninja at the border that you mentioned to Koi-sama?" Māku asked innocently.

"Can't tell ya, sorry-"

"It totally is." Māku said to the others, who nodded in reply.

"Māku, shush. Now because I'd rather not neglect your training like a bad teacher would, I've got you a substitute sensei for the next few days. I've actually been meaning to have him help you guys out a bit ever since you began the Academy, but we've both been busy."

"Does he know any fuinjutsu?" Avay raised his hand, sitting cross-legged with one of his clan scrolls in his lap. He was having trouble grasping the basics of seals without a proper teacher, and Gray wasn't exactly of uzumaki-blood.

"I know a little." With quite a surprise and a bit of a shrill scream from the horned-boy, a blonde man appeared next to him in an instant, scaring pretty much all three of them. He smiled brightly at them. "Hello. I'm Minato Namikaze. It's nice to meet you all."

Avay, Māku, and even Maiko stared for a few seconds, before the former of the three suddenly yelled out, "_Whoa_! How'd you do that? That was _awesome_!"

The blonde jounin laughed. "It's a bit complicated to explain."

"And I've not bribed..._paid_ him to teach you anything like that." Gray smiled sheepishly behind his mask. "But as for anything about seals, he will definitely be able to help you. He's taking time off from teaching his own team for this, by the way. So don't give him trouble, understand?"

"Hai, sensei."

The old Ronin waved to Minato and vanished in a swirl of leaves. The blonde man stood up and took stock of all three of them. All three wore very dark colors, black shirts and pants, with combat boots rather than the standard sandals most ninja wore. They were taking pointers from Gray, who dressed similarly.

Avay had looked back down to the scroll in his hand, studying the script wrapped around it, using his other hand to copy it down in a small blue journal at his side. With his knowledge, Minato could see it was a complex locking seal, with an ingrained blood-seal mixed in. That meant only Avay could open it. He "tsk'd" at the missed opportunity, he should've brought Kushina along, she would've loved to check that out.

Of course, Gray had already planned for her to be the next tutor, so she'd definitely get a chance.

Māku sat staring back at him, obviously waiting for instructions. Typically, he would mention that vibrant hair colors like Pink was a bad thing for a shinobi. But he'd feel it would be hypocritical since he had married a red-head and the boy's teammate had light-blue hair and _literal_ horns, so being inconspicuous was a no-no unless they became _extremely_ good with henge. (Which they planned to)

The other, the interloper since he was told there would only be two, was the uchiha-hyuga girl. Gray had mentioned her in passing, as did Kushina who had heard about her from Mikoto Uchiha. Apparently, there was a big scandal involving an Uchiha woman who fell in love with a Hyuga man, and had a daughter before the man died from unknown causes. Unfortunately, the father had another child with one of his fellow Hyuga prior to this, who remained with the clan as the now-single mother worked day and night to support her daughter. Surprisingly, the Uchiha clan was ambivalent, even supportive of the child's existence. They treated her the same as any other Uchiha child. Meanwhile, the Hyuga slapped a caged-bird seal on the poor girl for when she first manifests her Byakugan and her step-brother's foster parents taught him to hate her, which he spread to the rest of the clan's kids.

Minato shook his head, sage knows what that seal would do to a Sharingan if she ever developed one.

"Minato-sensei, just so you know, Maiko and I are fine with simple sparring today if you're gonna help Avay." Māku raised a hand, head inclined to the side. Maiko looked surprised by this information, but the mixed-blooded girl nodded all the same. "It's no trouble, he really needs the help anyway."

"Oh? Okay, then." As the two went off to begin sparring, Minato turned to Avay. "...So tell me, Avay, how'd you come by these scrolls?"

"Um..." The bluenette frowned, scratching his cheek. "I've just always had them, I guess. I'm an orphan, yeah? Even before I was brought to the orphanage Koi-Okāsan, I always had them with me in this pack." He motioned to the leather satchel on his side. It was worn with age. "There were these scrolls, but they were also mixed with a bunch of notes, letters, and even a book or two, so I was able to read those soon enough."

"What did they say?"

"Many things. Letters between family, basic history of my clan, and a few hints as to what techniques are in the scrolls." The boy frowned, scratching at the two protrusions on his head. "Though...nothing ever mentioned why I was left with this stuff or how I got to Shubaku in the first place."

"I can guess that's disconcerting."

"Yeah..." Avay hummed, iruzemi glowing softly. "Anyway, they things I could read gave my a lot of information about my clan. We were related to the Uzumaki clan, both lived in Uzushigakure in the Land of Whirlpools, among other things. Though a lot of people have told me that that's not true, that they were only close allies, but I doubt these notes would lie."

"So you don't remember your village?"

"No. Like I said, I didn't have a family 'till I met Māku, then kaa-san and Gray-sensei. I was really young when whatever destroyed it went down."

"Hmm...You should meet a friend of mine, Kushina Uzumaki." Minato said.

Avay gave him a look. "Friend? You mean your wife?"

"Eh? How do you know-"

"Gray-sensei told us." Avay answered instantly, shrugging. "Congratulations, I guess. I would definitely like to meet her, if it's no trouble." He grinned broadly. "It'd be nice to have a cousin!"

"Yeah...I'm...I'm sure you two would get along fine." The blonde's eyebrow was raised, wondering what else Gray told these kids about him. He knelt down next to him. "So, let's take a look at these scrolls..."

* * *

The passing days blended together once more, their time in the Academy going by without a fuss. Another class of genin graduated and life went on for the three kids. Avay had greatly improved upon his fuinjutsu abilities and was began to focus solely on his speed. Maybe he was inspired by the soon-to-be-named Yellow Flash, but that hardly mattered as long as he improved. It wasn't to say it was easy, he worked hard for it, pushing himself to his limits every single day until he couldn't even walk home.

Though they had many instructors, including Minato's own wife who hit it off with Avay immediately, the blunette looked up to the blonde man. Minato was a skilled shinobi in his own right and excelled in fuinjutsu where he himself was lacking. Training with him was honestly the more productive sessions.

Maiko couldn't help but notice his demeanor changing ever-so-slightly thanks to these interactions with both the man and his wife. He was a little less loud than before and seemed to be maturing rather quickly. He learned how to keep a calmer tone when speaking, even if he continued to be a bit snarky. His iruzemi, the tattoo once a shining beacon to show how he felt, was often cold and colorless on his sun-kissed skin. That wasn't to say his personality took a complete one-eighty, he was still a bit eccentric and would yell if someone challenged what he believed in or did something he deemed cool. At least he wasn't fighting everyone who mentioned his horns.

_"It may be that journal he's scribbling in all the time." _Koi had offered when She and Māku brought it up._ "Or...maybe he's just growing up. Spending time with Minato-san...A man like that can teach you a few things about life...That is, if Kushina didn't scare him straight first. That said, you never stay the same as you were as a child. I would know, Gray was kinda like him at his age."_

_"Don't bring me into this!" _Their sensei had complained.

Though, Maiko noted that even she had changed over the three years she'd known Avay and Māku. Thanks to Shun, she had never trusted boys all that well and it painfully showed. He had bullied and belittled her all her life. Some of that trauma seemed to make her direct her anger at males in general, it seemed. Nobody had stood up to him until the Avay and Māku came along. So, she never gained a respect for them. She could easily say she had changed for the better. Gray even helped when she began to learn the Gentle-Fist, despite the trials that came with that. Finally, she begun learning first aid and medical ninjutsu, and how to use her newly-awakened byakugan alongside it. Her mother couldn't have been more proud of her and encouraged her to keep pushing herself to become even better.

Then there was Māku, who was the least-changed out of all of them. His cough, something Maiko worried about, had ebbed away and pretty much vanished. While his own eccentricity seemed to increase and overwhelm his rationalism more often than not, he focused on learning all about genjutsu. He even spoke to and got tips from Uchiha and other specialists in the field. Though, unsurprisingly, he remained top of the class in taijutsu, continuing to beat out Maiko, Avay, and even Shun; nobody cared about the last one though.

Yet, somehow, he still picked up a hobby of collecting playing cards that had real world shinobi and famous figures on them instead of the normal hearts and spades and such. Avay was cool with it and even helped out looking for them. Meanwhile, Maiko was completely confused as to why he began the hobby in the first place. It made no sense to her, to be honest.

It was spring now, everyone had discarded their coats for cooler attire. The snow had melted and the sakura trees had bloomed. It was gorgeous, watching the world change. The Land of Fire was awe-inspiring on days like this. Maiko, Māku, and Avay were in the middle of Academy's training ground. They all wore similar clothing; A black shirt, grey pants with black leggings that covered their feet. Their belongings sat by a nearby tree, the branches swaying in the wind.

The three Academy students glared at one another, tension filling the air like a choking cloud of smoke. Their faces were scrunched up, thinking and plotting. Māku raised his hand, two pairs of eyes snapping to him, watching his every movement. Twitches of his muscles, the sweat rolling down his temple, no move went unnoticed. He glared back with determined emerald eyes, not daring to give anything away. Then, as the tension broke, he made his move...

"Two fives!" He declared, slapping down two playing cards that were face down, not showing what they were. Avay and Maiko groaned as he grinned smugly at them. "Any takers?"

Avay glared at him, the ploy so obvious that it hurt. He had only a few cards left, did he really want to make this gamble? He decided to double check, just to make sure. With that, he gave a quick fake chuckle before smirking back at the pinkette, who's poker-face suddenly faltered at the abrupt change in expression. He tried to salvage it but Avay's eyes twinkled with light, matching the glow of satisfaction his tattoo decided to give off.

"Bullshit." He said simply, turning over the cards Māku had thrown down. It revealed the faces of the Third Raikage, a five of spades, and...Orochimaru of the Legendary Sannin, an Ace of Clubs.

"Dammit!" Māku swore, slamming down the rest of his cards. "That's bullshit!"

"The name of the game." Maiko giggled.

"Oh be quiet! You probably used your byakugan!"

"Nope! I didn't, honest!" She placed a hand over her lavender-colored eye for emphasis.

"You can look through you're hand!"

Avay laughed, smirk growing. "Get your cards, Māku-_kun_."

"Ugh...Why your cousin taught us how to play this stupid game is beyond me...but I'm gonna kill her for it." The pinkette huffed, collecting the stack of cards in the middle and adding it to his own.

"As if you could give Kushina-san any trouble." Avay stuck his tongue out. "Now, let's see...one six."

The objective of the game was to place down and get rid of all your cards, in a sequence of ace, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, king, queen, jack, then back to ace. Of course, if you had multiple cards of whatever one you needed to place down, you could place all of them. Nobody else could see them, but if they called you out and it turned out that you placed a card out of sequence, you collect all placed down cards and had to start over, plus however many were laid out.

Kushina insisted that the game, while somewhat crude, was actually really useful for shinobi in training. It helped train you to detect bluffs and lies. Plus, the three always wanted a use for Māku's shinobi playing cards and not crammed into his pocket all day.

Unfortunately, it didn't _count_ as training.

"Māku! Avay! Maiko!" They collectively jumped and sighed as the teacher walked over. "You are supposed to be sparring, not goofing off with a card game!'

"Hai, Todoroki-sensei!" They mumbled in unison.

They collected the cards and stood up, getting in sparring positions. But before they could begin, a loud boom thundered through the village. Avay felt the muscles in his back go rigid before he snapped in direction of the explosion, having withdrawn his kunai from his pack in an instant, instinctual movement. A large plume of smoke and dust loomed to the west, probably from the wall surrounding the village.

"What the hell was that!?" Māku gaped at the distant event, many more of their class gathered around them, focused on the same thing.

"That much smoke...that wasn't an accident..." Maiko bit her lip. "Is someone attacking us?"

"In broad daylight? That's suicide."

"Should we do something? Or stay here?"

"It'd be best to stay put, in my opinion. Leave that to the trained shinobi." Someone pointed. "Look! There's already people heading towards it!"

Sure enough, multiple shinobi could be seen leaping across the rooftops towards the explosion armed to the teeth and ready to fight. After a minute of watching them, the intercom crackled loudly at the main building, "Attention! All students and teachers report to your homerooms immediately!"

The headmaster was always a calm man, so hearing him sounding extremely worried unnerved many of the students.

"You heard him! Back to the classroom!" Todoroki snapped, motioning towards the building. "Let's go, let's go!"

"Avay, Māku! Let's grab our things, quick!"

There was a chorus of worried murmurs all around them. But our trio were far more interested in finding out what was going on, especially since a number of shinobi could be seen taking up posts sitting atop roofs and fences, watching over them as they moved back into the Academy. The trio gave each other another look of concern before they collected their stuff and headed back inside. They filed back into homeroom, sitting at their desks. Hushed murmurs followed, ones of curiosity and unease. The three kept looking at one another, a sour feeling rooting in their guts as the teacher came back in and called roll. Afterwards, an ANBU walked in and whispered something to him. Without missing a beat, he nodded and looked directly at them.

"Maiko Uchiha, Māku and Avay Dai-Tenshi. You are being dismissed, collect your belongings and go to the front desk."

"Hai!" Their curiosity only got more intense as they complied.

Nodding goodbyes to their classmates, they exited the classroom and headed down to the front desk. The whole situation was getting more and more intense and their questioning only got more and more insatiable. What _was_ going on?

"I hate that they gave me your last name." The pinkette muttered, eyes narrowed.

"I think we've got bigger fish to fry, niisan." Avay replied bluntly, his companions muttering in agreement.

They got into the main office, a tinge of relief hitting them as they saw Gray standing at the front desk. He was speaking to the headmaster when he snapped his attention towards them, nodding backwards in a wordless order to come to him. They always knew he was going to be their sensei when they graduated and became Genin, so he had already went ahead and drilled them with a few hand signals and gestures, silent commands to aid them in the field.

Without so much as a word or explanation, the headmaster approached them and silently handed them three shining new Hitai-ate. Baffled, the trio stared at their new headbands, not exactly sure what to say or how to process what the act truly meant for them.

"There should be more ceremony in this, but I'm afraid we'll have to skip that this graduating class." The headmaster bemoaned to Gray, shaking his head. "Such a waste of tradition, but a necessary evil in this case." He nodded to them. "But wear those with pride and bring glory to Konoha, to the Will of Fire."

"Hai."

"Hai!"

"H-hai..."

With a nod, Gray motioned for them to follow, so they trailed behind him as they went outside and traveled through the streets. The presence of ANBU was understated, with two or more operatives on almost every corner, constantly moving around the village, mingled in were other shinobi, Jōnin-sensei with their teams rushing off past them.

"Sensei, what's happening?"

"Iwa attacked us, blew up one of the barriers to try and weaken our defenses."

"Is that wise? Aren't we stronger than them?"

"Perhaps, but...it's not just Iwa." Gray turned up his head, adjusting his hunter-nin mask idly. "For the past few years, there has been unrest across the land. Our power as nations has declined severely since the last war, economic and military alike. The smaller nations have seen this weakness and have risen up to take power. Shinobi have been spotted at our borders time and time again, always disappearing before we could identify them. We thought perhaps it was just Kumogakure...Old rivals scouting us like always, but recently we spotted Iwa making moves on us too, Kiri as well. And it's not just us, some of our allies, however few there may be, have reported nations, both big and small, probing their borders and harassing them, until today that is. I just expected Kumo to attack first, not Iwa..."

"You aren't saying it's..." Maiko's eyes widened.

"War?" The old Ronin stared forward. "...Perhaps I am."

"Shit..." Avay muttered, hand on his forehead.

"Shit indeed..." Māku agreed.

"What're we gonna do, Sensei?" Maiko said with a panicked tone. "I mean...who're we gonna fight? If it's almost every nation..."

"For now, we're gonna strike back against Iwa. Their initial assault following the bombing was pitiful, but we're preparing for a greater follow-up...and plan on attacking before that. Which, of course, you'll be taking part in..." Gray looked down at her, light glinting off his mask. "From this day forward, you are all Genin under my command." He straightened up as they gaped in surprise. "The same is true for your whole class, they'll all be Genin before the day is over."

"But...graduation is only a few months away!"

"Avay, you saw that attack. Felt it. We can't wait that long, you would all pass anyway. They are sending Genin to the frontlines, but your duties shall differ from the average team, not that that will exactly be exclusive to you three. As Jōnin-Commander, my role is typically strategy and such, though going into the field is part of the job. You will be accompanying me during such excursions."

"Onto the battlefield, you mean?" Maiko frowned. "Do you...really think we're ready?"

"Hai." Gray asserted firmly, looking at each of them. "Maiko, you are an excellent medic for your age, and one of the few uchiha-blooded medics in shinobi history. Not only that, you've inherited two of the greatest kekkei genkais of the Leaf. Māku, you are the brain and brawn of this team. Your offensive capabilities outrank those of your peers by miles and your skill in genjutsu could one day rival the Uchiha's sharingan. Avay, you've been tutored by one of the fastest shinobi and seal master in history and your improvement shows it. While you may not pack a punch, you certainly are a skilled shinobi. All three of you, you are ready. I know it."

They stared in surprise, looking to one another, then back to him.

"Do you really have that much faith in us, Gray-sensei?"

The man only looked back at them, turning his gaze skyward for a second.

He had trained them as hard as he could, made sure they had the best teachers, so if there was another war, they would be just fine.

That was the one thing nobody knew about him.

He had fought in two wars, one almost lasting a full decade of his life, and the experience of both had been burned into his memory. He lost friends. Many friends and allies. Some had died in his arms. Some he had murdered himself. His heart grew heavier with each one that passed, and he began to become numb to the trauma. Nobody, much less children, should go through that. But that's the way it is...That's the way the world is.

He truly believed that.

Then he found Koi again.

Then, he met Avay and Māku, his sons.

He watched them grow strong and make a friend for life.

He saw what they could do.

He knew.

Gray reached up and undid his mask, letting it fall from his face. The trio gaped, none of them having seen his face before, as he revealed himself to them. Needless to say, for someone pushing fifty, he didn't look half-bad. Gray held his mask down by his side, looking at them with tired lavender eyes. The eyes of a man who'd fought two wars. Who had seen his friends die every day for years. And was thankful to have found love once again.

But most importantly, they were the eyes of a Hyuga. Maiko's own eyes widened significantly more at that.

"I do." The old ronin nodded. "If trusting you with my face doesn't show it, I'll say it again. You _are_ ready, I've put my faith in you. Every one of you, understand?"

After the moment of shock, they nodded. "Hai!"

"Good, now head home and get your gear." Gray smiled, replacing his mask quickly. "We'll meet up outside the Hokage's office to receive our team's orders."

"Hai!" They said again as Gray headed off. After a second, Maiko looked at them, surprised. "Did you two know he was a Hyuga?"

"Nope." Māku shook his head promptly, not really sounding surprised, just intrigued. "He's never taken that mask off, not even when going to bed."

"It's like that Kakashi kid on Minato-sensei's team to a much higher-degree."

"Yeah, but it _does_ explain a few things...How he got Shun and other Hyuga to back off when we first came here..."

"How he knew the Gentle-Fist when he was helping you..."

"Why he wears that mask all the time..."

"And how he kept catching me when I tried to snatch one of his kunai to practice with when I was six." Avay nodded vigorously, ignoring the bemused look from his brother. But then the bluenette suddenly balked. "Wait a second...They're sending _genin_ to fight?"

"We _are_ soldiers, y'know. But the last war of almost a decade and half ago." Māku reminded. "Plus, like sensei said, if our power has declined sp much since then. We're not ready for a war, and we'll need just about anyone who can hold a kunai at this point. Not saying I agree with it though."

"Hm." Maiko nodded, than pumped her arms determinedly. "Alright! You heard Sensei, we gotta get our gear! My stuff is at you guys' place so we'll only need one trip."

"Right." Māku looked at Avay. "Well? Wanna do the honors, Avay-kun?"

"Shut it and grab on...sage, I hope I remember the correct signs or this is gonna hurt _really_ bad..."

"Should we just walk?"

"No, no. I got it..._maybe_..."

He began to go through hand seals, his friends' hands latching onto his shoulders for support. Avay then held up his left hand, fingers open as his Iruzemi glowed with chakra, all emitting from the back of his left hand. His eyes closed in concentration, the glow going from warm to almost blazing, a blue fire that crossed his left cheek. In his mind, he could feel his chakra envelop them all. He let out a gasping breath, eyes snapping open, the pupils a hazy blue as he slammed his hand onto the ground, right hand up in a single hand sign, feeling his chakra rush out and surround them.

They vanished in a bright flash of light.

To what would become the Third Shinobi World War.

* * *

**-Present Day-**

"And now, to introduce the Godamie Hokage of Konohagakure! Heir to the Dai-Tenshi clan, apprentice to the Yondamie and personally selected as his successor, Avay Dai-Tenshi!"

Avay stepped outside at the cue, the cool mid-day air carrying a gentle breeze as he moved up the platform. The red-white hat atop his head shielding his eyes from the sunlight, shrouding his face in shadow as he looked down to the amassed crowd. He had forgone the white cloak, the suddenness and uncertainty of the situation not giving way for tradition, like had often happened in the past. There were already murmurs and a few shouts from the crowd below. Nobody knew who he was, he was truly a nobody, a nameless shinobi who fought and could have potentially died in the war. But he kept his head up and cleared his throat.

"I take no pleasure in replacing Lord Fourth's position in the event of his untimely passing." His voice carried swift, hushing the crowd with his conviction. Thank sage he rehearsed this damn speech. "Our village has been through hell these past few years and I have witnessed it all. The Third Shinobi World War has left scars and open wounds on our bodies, hearts, and minds. We've lost loved ones, friends, family. And just when we thought these scars could heal, the Kyubi appears to tear open those scars to bleed anew. But we can't change what's done, we can only move on. And move on we shall. No longer shall we roll over and let ourselves be tormented by the world. It is right to show compassion, but those who mistake our compassion for weakness will suffer far worse than we have. We look after our own and those who call themselves our allies." Avay's brown eyes flashed blue. "This is our Will of Fire."

Mediocre as the speech may be, he was only seventeen after all, the crowd ate it up and roared with cheers of approval. Was it that easy to win favor? He had made it a point not to point out his inadequacies as a Hokage candidate. Being forced into office already, the last thing he needed was people knowing how inexperienced he was. Being Minato's supposed 'apprentice' had it's benefits, but that didn't mean he was next in line for the hat. Yet, his late mentor left it to him in a final letter. Avay shuddered slightly, taking off the hokage's hat and holding it aloft, hiding his unease and uncertainty with the grandiose gesture. What the young man wasn't aware of, was the presence of the two figures in the distance, having watched his speech with keen interest.

"Well done, Danzo-sama." The masked figure chuckled. "He needs some work, but with some grooming, this one will make an excellent puppet."

"Hmm...Hiruzen and Minato were far too lenient." The bandaged man grumbled. "While this one isn't quite what I hoped for, his experience in war and inexperience as Hokage should prove quite helpful in swaying him fully to our side of thinking."

"Of course, and all it took was a forged letter..." He cackled. "Ah, I have high hopes for this boy."

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

**Next Chapter: "1 - Petty Dreams, of a Better Time"**

* * *

**A/N**

**Thanks for reading! This chapter is kinda boring, I admit, only some world-building and introducing the characters. I know it isn't perfect, far from it, but I've got some nice ideas for this story and how it'll play out. I just really wanted to do an OC!Hokage ****fic, taking a previous OC of mine and reducing his OP qualities by several magnitudes. ****Yeah! Guess what, everyone? Avay used to be OP as shit! He had a Byakugan-Sharingan, he could copy kekkei-genkai by touch, and he was the jinchuuriki of the Eleven-Tailed Raccoon. Does that sound awesome or what? I sure thought so before I grew a brain.**

**Of course, I changed his character a lot. He used to be cocky as hell, now he's rather modest and extremely pragmatic. He couldn't care less about heritage, preferring one's personal strength to that of their clan. This will give him interesting dynamics as Hokage, since his personal views and inexperience end up giving him a unique approach to clan and village matters. His abilities and skills are still somewhat the same, minus the OP abilities. ****He has several clan abilities, two-bloodlines that make him perfect for tracking and espionage. Those will be shown later though. ****The true purpose of the Dai-Tenshi clan, and their exact relation to the Uzumaki, will be explored in the next chapter.**

**Maiko's Uchiha-Hyuga ancestry actually stemmed from Avay's Byakugan-Sharingan and a detail I noticed in a databook. Apparently, if a hyuga and uchiha have a kid, that kid will get a single sharingan and a single byakugan, rather than a byakugan-sharingan mix. I thought that was a cool concept, so I'm working with it.**

**Māku is a fun character, his past is a secret, though his bond with Avay is definitely strong. Originally, he had a support role, but that was boring so I changed it up so he's the best fighter, but gave him a few new flaws. His shinobi playing-cards are unique and play into the plot, keep an eye on them when they crop up!**

**Since this is more or less an introduction chapter, a few key details will be  
elaborated on in the next chapter. **

**See you then!**

* * *

**Omake**:  
**Seals; Guidance Entirely Optional**

Maiko was surprised to find herself the first one to arrive at the training field Avay and Māku frequented. She waited for a long time, until Minato showed up as well.

Even he was surprised to find only her there. "Where are the other two?"

"I don't know, though I did hear an awfully loud bang come from their house last night."

Minato frowned, he had heard it too. "Well, if they don't show up soon, we'll go look for them."

"Sure."

Eventually, the two blood brothers did indeed turn up, though in a less-than-positive state. Māku had dark rings under his eyes, clothes ruffled and covered in what looked like soot, looking like he would fall over any second. He let out a few coughs, shaking some of the dark dust off.

Avay, on the other hand, looked shell shocked. Eyes wide in surprise, blinking owlishly while covered head-to-toe in ash, his fingers and hands covered in bandages.

"Uh..." Maiko gaped. "Are...you two okay?"

"Haha. _No_." Was Māku's matter-of-fact answer. "Avay was practicing seals last night. _He_ is now in need of a new bedroom, and _he-_" He punctuated this by glaring at his brother. "-is sleeping on the couch tonight."

"Not..." Avay coughed out black smoke. "_Ah_...my fault..."

Minato winced. _Maybe_ he should have told Avay to only practice explosive seals in a safe environment and not in his house.

Probably with supervision too.


End file.
